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This story is from July 18, 2019

My aim of securing Olympic quota creates pressure: Heena Sidhu

Heena Sidhu has had a lean period since winning the women's 10m air pistol bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. Talking with TOI, she said that her decision of giving up the 25m pistol event to focus just on 10m ahead of the Olympics next year is creating pressure for her. She added, "I am sort of starting afresh, I think I will do much better in the upcoming matches."
My aim of securing Olympic quota creates pressure: Heena Sidhu
Heena Sidhu (TOI Photo)
Key Highlights
  • Former world No. 1 Heena Sidhu has had a lean period since winning the women's 10m air pistol bronze at the 2018 Asian Games
  • Since last December, Heena has given up 25m pistol event to focus just on 10m
  • The 29-year-old is hopeful of receiving the Khel Ratna this year after being nominated for the top sports award by NRAI
NEW DELHI: Heena Sidhu is on a break from the firing point these days. She looks much more relaxed, quite close to the space a shooter wants to be in. Her busy headspace earlier was displayed by the score monitor at the Delhi World Cup earlier this year. That looks sorted now. The former world No. 1 has a clear sight of her objectives. In shooting terms, her sight isn't dropping now.
She knows what went wrong and more importantly is clear about how to fix the problems before the big one - the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Heena hasn't yet contributed in the seven Olympic quotas booked by Indian shooters so far. It's that pain she admittedly carried for a while, before realising that overthinking won't help. So she did some course-correction.
Heena decided to let go of the 25m pistol event in December last year and focus on just the 10m air pistol event. It must have been tough for someone who won the 25m gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, or perhaps it wasn't. She decided in favour of her 10m bronze at the Asian Games to get out of a technical tangle. It could just be the thing she needs before the next World Cup, which is still over a month away in late August.
But at the moment, Heena has her feet up and having a good laugh watching her favourite stand-up comedies.

Relaxed Heena Sidhu eager to return with a bang



Excerpts from an interview:

Like most people, you too weren't happy with the way the Cricket World Cup final ended

I didn't like how it was decided. One Super Over, that was also equal (tied) and then they went with the (number of) boundaries. Rather than that, they could have looked at the wickets (lost) also or another Super Over. Whatever happened didn't seem fair.
But we can safely say Heena Sidhu is a cricket fan as well?

No, I am not a big cricket fan, but it was the World Cup final. Other than that I just watched the India vs Pakistan game and India's semi-final.
Let's come to what you love doing - shooting. What's the latest on that front, Olympics on your mind?

Right now, I am just focusing on getting some rest and taking one day at a time. The thing is you have to focus on your performance and not think about the outcome. That's exactly what I am trying to do. I am thinking about my performance, how can I make it better, what are the things I have to work on. Whatever happens after that is another story. I am taking a break because there are no matches coming up. So this is one time where I can relax before I start preparing and working towards the Olympics. I am not thinking about the outcome at all.

The last six months have been lean for you, especially since scoring 587 in the 10m trials last December

After that 587, I learnt a lot of things. There was nothing different before that (in terms of) training leading to that 587 or the training leading to the World Cups. So the only inference I can draw is I am facing pressure from my wish to grab the (10m air pistol) Olympic quota as soon as possible. It started with the Delhi World Cup, which was on home ground and I was very hopeful that I will get the quota. The training was going well, I was in excellent form. But somehow I couldn't (win a quota place) and that just sort of disrupted my momentum going to the World Cups. If that World Cup had been somewhere else and not in Delhi, maybe I wouldn't have taken it to heart. But now that I have this time that I can take a break, relax, sort of forget about shooting and start afresh, I think I will do much better in the upcoming matches.
Has taking focus off the 25m pistol event helped?

I stopped 25m in December last year. I haven't touched that pistol till now. 587 was when I had just decided I am going to stop doing 25m and just concentrate on air pistol. So yes, not having one event gives me a lot of time during the day to think about just air pistol and time for myself also. I think if I do want to re-start sports pistol, I will be very happy to; but I think I'll do it after the Olympics now.
Shooting may not feature in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Did that in any way influence your decision to drop the 25m event?

It's not that I am doing 25m for Commonwealth Games. I really love that event and I miss it. I had to take a decision because I was facing a lot of technical issues in both 25m and air pistol, and I didn't understand what was causing what. So in order to clear my mind, I had to leave 25m and just concentrate on air pistol.
What's your husband and coach Ronak's opinion about the 25m vs 10m debate?

He agrees with me. He also saw my point. We had been struggling with technical issues for a long time, so he said that yes we can stop it and just concentrate on air pistol. And if need be, we can start it again.
How do you usually react to comments that you don't look beyond Ronak as coach?

In fact, I have had more coaches before Ronak. I have had Ronak working with them also as a coach. Even after 2016, I started working with Munkhbayar Dorjsuren. I worked with her for two camps and saw that there was no difference at all. It's not that I don't take criticism with sporting spirit. If I feel this could be one of the reasons that could help me improve, I did try it. And after trying it, I found that there was no difference in what Ronak was making me do and what she was making me do. They both think alike, have the same concepts about shooting. What Ronak has is how he understands me as a person. He has an edge over there.
Are soap operas a shooter's best friend, considering shooters largely live very secluded lives?

You can say that. I passed my time in the Asian Games with a lot of stand-up comedy. I like stand-up comedy a lot, because it sort of relieves you from the stress of the day, being happy, smiling, releases good hormones. You actually feel good, you have better sleep.
Do you think it's really tough to book a ticket for the Olympics considering junior shooters are putting seniors under pressure?

No, I think if you shoot your scores, concentrating on your performance, then not. Anyway, in the scheme of things at the world level, the scores that are required for you to actually do well at the Olympics, win a medal or enter the final are quite high. So the competition we face in India is good and helping us prepare for those matches. My competition has never been with the Indian shooters. It's always been with the world level. If I keep that in mind, the competition that I face here becomes a part of that bigger scheme of things.
Do you agree with the growing notion that India is doing better at the junior level than in senior competitions?

That are a lot of things that (are at) play here. One is the way shooting has spread across the country, through media, through the achievements of seniors who have won medals in the past. That has inspired a lot of juniors to take up the sport. The parents also feel much more secure putting their children in sports these days. A lot of people have started shooting and we are getting the best out of the lot. That is actually across sports, not just shooting. Like I said, the competition that we face in India is good, it prepares us, brings the best out of Indian shooters to represent the country. It's good. They are all doing well. We are in this cycle where previous performances are inspiring newer performances. This is how sports should be. It should be a self-sustaining system where your old performances are only inspiring younger generations to come up, and they are doing well.
Are you expecting the Khel Ratna for yourself and the Dronacharya award for Ronak?

Yes, we are expecting it. Let's see. We are hopeful and I think we deserve it. We have done what we had to do from our side. It's all up to the committee now. May the best person win both these awards.
End of Article
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